Category Archives: bill brock

said Bill Brock sagely during the Blaze match against the Los Angeles Vibe Wednesday night. Had GM Mesgen Amanov’s opponent—IM Zhanibek Amanov, no relation—had a word with Bill earlier, perhaps he would have chosen a different defense against the Chicago-area grandmaster who is playing superb chess for the Blaze this year. As it happened Zhanibek found himself in the midst of a game that his opponent and namesake understood in a deep theoretical way. The result is one of the most interesting games we’ve seen this year. Below, Mesgen, the victor, analyzes the game. Get ready for chessical treat of the first rank. Continue reading →

Even in a good season there are losses, and the Chicago Blaze suffered one last night, at the hands of the St. Louis Arch Bishops, by a score of 2.5-1.5.

St. Louis’s winning edge came on Board 1, in the first game of the night to end, when Arch Bishop GM Hikaru Nakamura successfully carried out a regicidal plot reminiscent of power-hungry medieval prelates, against the good and virtuous king of his opponent, GM Dmitry Gurevich of the Blaze. Alexandre Dumas would have understood the game perfectly.

Congratulations to GM Dmitry Gurevich of the Chicago Blaze, who is the new state chess champion following his victory this past weekend at the Illinois Open. Dmitry prevailed over some tough competition, not the least being his own Blaze teammates, who played well at the tournament. In all, seven of the top ten spots in the final standings were captured by current or former Blaze players.

Speaking of capturing, superstar chess photographer Betsy Dynako was on hand to record the action beautifully. We are, as always, deeply grateful for her photos and permission to post them.Continue reading →